What You Need to Know About Presidential Primaries in February

Posted by Tamim Chowdhury86sc on February 16, 2016

What You Need to Know about Presidential Primaries in February

The Presidential Primaries are here and regardless of being a Democrat, Republican or an independent, its important to know the rules! The schedule below shows the Presidential primaries through the month of February, whether the Primary is closed or open and your voter registration date. If you are an independent in a closed primary State, you will NOT be able to vote for any Democratic or Republican Party candidate, i.e. Hillary, Bernie, Jeb, Kasich, etc.

What is an Open Primary?

In an open primary, the voter has the choice to vote in any one party without being officially affiliated or registered with that party. Example: I can vote in the Republican primary even though I am registered as a Democrat. Also important to note, you cannot vote in both primaries- you have to pick one.

What is a closed Primary?

You must be officially affiliated with a party to vote for that party. Example: If I want to vote for Bernie or Hillary, I have to be registered as a Democrat. If I am registered as an independent, I cannot vote for either/any of them in the Presidential Primary.

If you don't vote, it is as if you don't exist. Do your civic duty for you and your community and get registered to vote today regardless of where you live!